Experimental lung carcinoma induced by fungi and mycotoxins--a review

Up to now, most of the etiological studies of lung cancer have been focused on air pollution, radiation and smoking, etc, whereas in the past decades, we had found that fungi and mycotoxins in foodstuff might play important roles in the carcinogenesis of lung cancer. Our preliminary work showed that the liquid in pickled vegetables consumed by residents of Taihang Mountain area in Hebei Province and corn flours inoculated with Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus versicolor in which aflatoxin G 1 (AFG 1) and Sterigmatocystin (ST) were detected, could induce lung adenocarcinoma in Kunming, LACA and NIH mice as well as Wistar rats. Further studies with AFG 1 and ST confirmed that oral administration of the two mycotoxins could induce lung adenocarconma in NIH mice. The experimental lung carcinoma induction studies with fungi and mycotoxins in our lab are summarized in this review.